


September 22nd

by bitsori



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Birthday Fluff, Childhood Friends, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-24 17:03:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20709509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: Do you remember, the twenty-second of September?or, Hyunjin has a clear type, but no one really seems to realise it. (Alternatively: Various birthday presents Hyunjin gives Seungmin through the years.)





	September 22nd

**Author's Note:**

> [ 1 ] Happy Birthday Kim Seungmin! ♥ (Also: Hyoyeon, Jinyoung, Nayeon!)
> 
> [ 2 ] This idea was inspired by conversations with **R**, more or less, so thank you. For the idea, and for reading through the original draft. (And to **M** as well, as usual!)
> 
> [ 3 ] Ages mentioned are international ages.

  
  
  
☍

**1\. Hyoyeon**

When Seungmin turns 8, Hyunjin gifts him with a cheap mood ring.

He rushes over first thing in the morning, not even nine yet, an excitable bundle of energy when Seungmin opens the door for him. 

“Happy birthday!” Hyunjin cheerfully exclaims, grinning widely despite a gap in the front row of his teeth – one of his lateral incisors had fallen out the week prior and Hyunjin had been quite gleeful when he reported to Seungmin that he had gotten 500KRW from the tooth fairy in exchange for it. 

Hyunjin shoves a small, haphazardly wrapped gift in Seungmin's hands, and looks at him expectantly with bright eyes, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waits for Seungmin to tear the wrapper apart.

“Do you want cake?” Seungmin asks instead, at the same time as Hyunjin demands,

“Open it!”

“I’ll do it inside!” Seungmin tells him, smiling brightly because it’s his birthday, and his mother had told him that he’s actually allowed cake _ for breakfast _ – plus Hyunjin’s excitement has always been quite contagious.

“Yes!” Hyunjin nods, only for his expression to fall a quick second later. “Oh, but I have to get ready for dance class—I just wanted to give you your gift before I go!” 

“Oh—” Even at a young age, there is something disappointing about Hyunjin’s response; but then Seungmin shouldn’t be blamed for wanting to spend the day with his best friend. He has known Hyunjin since they were both in diapers, after all. “Okay!” He nods curtly, but keeps his smile on anyway as he tries to tear the wrapping paper apart to get to his gfit – it proves a little difficult because Hyunjin had used a little too much transparent tape, but Seungmin manages after a minute or so.

“I used my own money!” Hyunjin announces proudly, as Seungmin breaks apart the capsule container to get to what’s inside. “Next time I lose another tooth, I’ll try to get one for myself so we can match. The colors are supposed to change according to how you feel! Purple means happy—try it on!”

Seungmin twists the ring onto his pointer finger – it’s still a little too loose for his ring finger – and nothing happens, apart from Hyunjin’s face twisting with disbelief.

“What does green mean?” Seungmin asks as he holds up his hand to show Hyunjin the color.

“Nothing.” Hyunjin sighs heavily, dramatic in a way that only a young child can be. “Let’s figure it out later when I get back after class! I’ll have cake with you then, too!”

Seungmin nods in agreement, and when he gets back inside he tells his mother that he’s going to wait until Hyunjin gets back home to have cake with him – he’s usually back by lunch time on Saturdays, and Seungmin is nothing if not a patient child.

But then the clock strikes noon, strikes one, two, three – and Hyunjin doesn’t really knock on his door again until it’s half past three. Seungmin puts on a scowl because it’s _ his _ birthday, and he wants Hyunjin to know that he’s upset because he’s meant to spend it with him.

He fully expects Hyunjin to apologise for being late, but his best friend is even bouncier than usual.

“It’s Hyoyeon-ssaem’s birthday today!” He announces as he barges into Seungmin’s room, his eyes looking even brighter than they were that morning. 

“Hyoyeon-ssaem?” Seungmin asks, even though he knows perfectly well who _ Hyoyeon-ssaem _ is. How could he not when she’s all Hyunjin’s been talking about ever since he started dance a few months ago. She’s the instructor in Hyunjin’s weekend classes, and apparently she’s the best at what she does; Hyunjin talks a lot of dance lingo, a lot of which just goes over Seungmin’s head. 

“Yes!” Hyunjin nods eagerly. “She’s… 22? 23—?” He pauses and bites down his bottom lip, eyes glancing up the way they do when he’s calculating something in his head. “22, I think! It’s her birthday, so we had cake in class! Some of her dancer friends were in class, too, and they taught us more new steps! It’s been such a great day, Seungminnie!”

He sounds and _ looks _ so ecstatic, and even at 8, Seungmin can’t bring himself to scold his friend. His scowl easily melts away, and even though he’s a little miffed that Hyunjin already had cake without him, he spends the rest of his birthday watching as Hyunjin demonstrated the new choreography he’d just learned in class that day.

  
  
  
**2\. Nayeon**

When Seungmin turns 12, Hyunjin presents him with a brand new pitcher’s glove.

He gives it to Seungmin after school, as they hang out in the park across their shared apartment building – it's in a pretty paper bag now, because Hyunjin knows better than to attempt gift wrapping these days.

“You said you're going to focus on athletics more starting in middle school, right?” Hyunjin narrates, pride mirrored in his eyes. “Now, everytime you pitch a baseball, you're going to feel my full support.”

His words sound like some type of of line that Seungmin thinks Hyunjin probably read in one of his webtoons, or maybe even saw in one of those dramas on TV that he’s taken a liking to recently. It’s cheesy, but Seungmin lets the sentiment of the words fill his chest anyway. That’s the thing about Hyunjin – oftentimes he can be over the top with his dramatics, but he’s always sincere with his intent, and you easily _ feel _ as much.

“Thank you,” Seungmin tells him, fitting his hand into the mitt; it’s a little uncomfortable for now, and he chooses not to tell his friend that he’s going to need to get it broken in before he can actually use it in games. “Do you—” _ —want to play catch, _ he means to ask, but Hyunjin’s attention has already been waylaid.

“Do you think Nayeon-noona will like _ her _ gift?” Hyunjin asks, as he holds up a simple but pretty black cord bracelet that’s held together by a clasp that resembles a pair of twin cherries – not that Seungmin really needs a closer look at it seeing as he had been with Hyunjin when he’d meticulously picked it out at the bazaar held near their school. 

Seungmin simply shrugs in response; as far as he knows, girls like pretty, shiny things – his older sister does anyway, so he assumes that Nayeon does, too. He just isn’t sure if that’s going to help Hyunjin any in his pursuit of the older girl. Truth be told, he doesn’t get it, really. Nayeon is _ old. _ She’s already in high school, and she used to _ baby-sit _ the two of them when they were younger. For some reason, none of these things have prevented Hyunjin from making heart eyes at their neighbor recently, though.

“Noona is just so cute,” Hyunjin practically gushes. “And sweet—and she’s so lovely when she smiles, so I hope my birthday gift makes her smile really big.”

Seungmin doesn’t say it, but he’s pretty sure that it will, if only because it’s _ Hyunjin, _ and he makes everyone smile easily. _ He, _ himself, had been quite happy with his birthday gift, and to be frank, a small part of him wishes Hyunjin would focus on that fact more.

But – 

“Noona!” Hyunjin is already up on his feet and waving at Nayeon as she passes through the park, and Seungmin can’t help but feel a tad neglected.

Nayeon quickly spots them, and Seungmin supposes he’s happy for Hyunjin because of that. The older girl, who resides in the same apartment complex as them, goes to a nearby all-girls’ high school, and in that moment she’s still clad in her summer uniform. Seungmin has to admit, even in just a simple, grey a-line skirt and a white, short-sleeved blouse, she manages to look absolutely pristine and lovely.

“Hi, kids!” She greets them sweetly, her smile big, bright and showcasing her cute bunny teeth, and Seungmin has to hold back a wince. He quickly (and naturally) lifts his chin in defiance – they’re _ not _ kids anymore.

“Noona, happy birthday!” Hyunjin is not affected the same way that Seungmin is, and he simply greets her happily. “I have something for you!”

“Oh?” Nayeon looks at them with curiosity, and Seungmin watches as his best friend inhales deeply, gathering enough courage before he holds out his hand to present her with the bracelet. “Oh!” Nayeon repeats, but this time, her entire face has lit up with obvious fondness. “It’s cute!” And then she holds out her wrist, allowing Hyunjin to wrap the accessory around it himself.

He struggles for a couple of seconds with the clasp, but Nayeon simply watches on with a smile that’s both cute and annoying at once, at least to Seungmin.

“Thank you, Hyunjinnie,” Nayeon coos, grinning; the two of them are roughly as tall as each other already, and it’s pretty easy for her to reach over and ruffle Hyunjin’s hair. And then, there’s a moment of silence as Hyunjin pulls himself up to his full height much to Nayeon’s clear amusement.

And then Seungmin can only watch, smiling through gritted teeth as something unpleasant and unfamiliar pools at the pit of his stomach when Nayeon boldly leans in to plant a kiss on Hyunjin’s cheek.

  
  
  
**3\. Jinyoung**

When Seungmin turns 16, Hyunjin’s gift is a bottle of expensive perfume.

Hyunjin gives it to him at the back of the bus on their way to school.

“Are you trying to tell me that I smell bad?” Seungmin asks in a deadpan manner, but the two of them have been friends long enough for Hyunjin to identify his dry humor.

Still, that doesn't stop Hyunjin from ducking his head in embarrassment. “I really like the scent,” he explains. “And I immediately thought of you when I first smelled it.”

“Oh.” Seungmin blinks, falling silent as he wills away the warmth creeping up his cheeks thanks to Hyunjin’s words. These days, he can never help but wonder if Hyunjin is even remotely aware of the effect his words – his actions, his _ everything, _ actually – have on Seungmin.

“Yeah!” Hyunjin chirps, clearly oblivious, to which Seungmin can only inwardly sigh.

“Well, thank you,” he says out loud, his smile somewhat reserved.

“You're welcome,” Hyunjin answers. “Anyway, did you hear?” 

“Hear?” Seungmin looks at him questioningly as he secures his present in his backpack.

“Jinyoung! Park Jinyoung-ssi—!” Hyunjin exclaims excitedly, even as he cuts himself off.

“Park Jinyoung…?” Hyunjin is being obtuse on purpose for dramatic effect, but Seungmin humors him for the sake of having him get on with it. The name Park Jinyoung _ is _ a familiar name, at least – he posts videos online, and Hyunjin is obsessed with his vlogs because, apparently, he has a wide variety of interests and he's knowledgeable about, quote, _ almost anything and everything!, _ unquote.

“He’s coming to school today!” Hyunjin enthusiastically shares.

“Wait, why—?”

“The broadcast club invited him, and got him to agree to give us a talk later today—he's majoring in broadcast journalism at SNU, did I tell you that?”

Seungmin nods, because Hyunjin _ has _told him, countless of times before, just like he'd told Seungmin before that Jinyoung used to go to the same high school Seungmin and Hyunjin attend now, except he'd (obviously) graduated years before their time.

“So yeah! He’s coming today to give some kind of talk, so that anyone at the club—at school, really, in general—who has serious designs to pursue anything communications after high school, can ask him questions.”

“That's cool…” Seungmin tells him, smiling encouragingly even though he secretly thinks it's silly – it isn't as if Jinyoung already has a flourishing broadcast career. He's still only a college student – granted, at one of the country's top universities, but _ still, _ just a student.

“Yeah!” Hyunjin is far too pleased about Jinyoung's visit, clearly. “Oh, also—do you know, it's his birthday today, too!”

Seungmin stares at him blankly. “Excuse me?”

“Today is his birthday too!” Hyunjin repeats, laughing. “My favorite people have the same birthday, isn’t that cool?”

“Yeah,” Seungmin exhales softly. “Cool.”

Later that day, Seungmin waits for Hyunjin at the gates of the school; it’s typical of them to go home together after school, and before they both need to head to cram school, but they’d made plans to go and eat at Lotteria that day so they can celebrate Seungmin turning a year older.

Hyunjin is several minutes late, and that’s strange because he’s usually right on time – truth be told, one of the very many things that Seungmin appreciates about him is his punctuality. When Seungmin finally spots him exiting the main building, he finds that Hyunjin isn’t alone – he’s joined by a vaguely familiar looking person, and it takes a couple of seconds for it to dawn on Seungmin _ why _ the person is familiar. He’s seen him on Hyunjin’s tablet before, his best friend engrossed as he watched this person talk about some trip he’d taken to Jeju with his friends. 

“Seungminnie!” Hyunjin grins once they reach him at the gates. “This is Jinyoung-hyung! Hyung—this is my best friend, Kim Seungmin.”

Seungmin bows politely upon being introduced, but it doesn’t escape him how Hyunjin has already dropped formalities with this Jinyoung guy, even though as far as he knows, this is the first time they’re meeting in person.

“Hyunjinnie tells me it’s your birthday today, too?” Jinyoung says, and this time, it takes Seungmin a beat to realise that Jinyoung is talking to _ him. _ “Happy birthday!”

“Ah, yes—you too, sunbaenim,” Seungmin mutters in response.

They all walk together to the bus station, Hyunjin happily conversing with his apparent idol, and for a moment it looks like Hyunjin is going to ask Jinyoung to go with them, and Seungmin internally panics. And so he's more than grateful when Jinyoung is the first one to excuse himself.

“I’m meeting a friend of mine at this noodle store a few blocks from here,” he explains. “We went to high school together, and Wonpil and I used to hang out at that eatery almost every afternoon back in the day.”

And then Jinyoung reminds Hyunjin that he has his number now, and that Hyunjin is free to contact him for anything that Hyunjin might need or want help with, and the entire time, Hyunjin just keeps _ beaming _ as if he can die in that moment, and his life would have been made.

“He’s so nice, and amazing and—and Seungminnie, I think I’m _ in love,” _ he whispers to Seungmin once Jinyoung is out of earshot; he practically collapses against Seungmin’s side, swooning as if his knees have weakened – and Seungmin knows that his best friend, as usual, is being over-dramatic and exaggerated, but the words still feel like a knife, not just cutting through him, but twisting, deep and hard, straight through his heart.

  
  
  
**4\. Seungmin**

When Seungmin turns 20, Hyunjin gives him the one thing he has always wanted, but never thought he’d get.

“I love you, Seungminnie,” Hyunjin tells him, his voice soft and nervous, yet clear and unwavering at the same time. “I’m in love with you.”

_ Pause. Rewind. Play. _

Hyunjin originally gifts him with tickets to a DAY6 live; curiously enough, the only reason that Seungmin even knows about DAY6 is through Jinyoung – who works as a PD at one of the big broadcast stations now, but has remained acquainted and in loose contact with Hyunjin, who continues to look up to him, despite swearing up and down that he got over his little (massive, if you ask Seungmin) crush years ago. Jinyoung is friends with the members of DAY6, even went to high school with one of them, and he had featured them in one of his vlogs over three years ago, and it just so happened to be the one episode that Seungmin decided to check out so he can attempt to understand what all the fuss over Jinyoung was about. 

Spoiler alert: Seungmin comes out of the experience still not understanding his best friend’s obsession, but he does also come out of it curious about the band featured, and three years later, he’s graduated from simple curiosity to religiously keeping up with their activities, as DAY6 slowly rises amidst the underground band scene.

He’s already seen them live two or three times before, but this time around feels different, in part because it feels like the universe’s birthday gift to him personally as it falls right on his birthday. More than that, however, the promise of seeing them is actually _ Hyunjin’s _ birthday gift, which makes it even more special.

The live concert is held at a small club in Hongdae, which gets quite packed because the band has recently been getting more known. Still, neither Hyunjin nor Seungmin shy away from the crowd, and they do their best to squeeze in and navigate through the throng of people until they manage to make it close to the front.

Seungmin doesn’t pay attention to the time passing because the band, as usual, is the best when they do lives. He loses himself in the moment, and by the time the set is over, all he’s left with is a wonderful kind of high that has him feeling like the night is among the best ones in his life.

He falls asleep on Hyunjin’s shoulder on the bus home, and he assumes that Hyunjin is as exhausted as he is, and that the night is all but over. Except, as they walk from the stop to their apartment building – as they pass through the park that they’ve made their own through the years, Hyunjin _ lingers, _ and Seungmin gets confused.

“We’ve lived here all our lives, haven’t we?” He starts; tired, Seungmin has absolutely no idea or comprehension of what he is trying to say. 

“Yes?”

Hyunjin laughs, and Seungmin scowls slightly, thinking that he’s laughing at Seungmin’s lethargic state, but then Hyunjin clarifies, sharing his thoughts out loud, “I don’t even remember how we first met.” 

Seungmin pauses, and tries to wrack his own thoughts for that particular memory, but he comes up empty. It should be upsetting, but it isn’t, because it just drills in the fact that he and Hyunjin have pretty much been together since they were _ literal babies. _It’s no wonder that even just attending different universities the past year has been such an adjustment for them.

“You’d think that nothing would surprise me about you anymore, considering how long I’ve known you,” Hyunjin muses; his tone wavers briefly, displaying his nerves, but Seungmin just stares and waits for him to continue. “You know, Seungminnie, tonight, I—” Hyunjin takes a deep breath, and Seungmin tilts his head in curiosity. He doesn’t know why, but his heart is beating rapidly, and every bit of him is awake with expectations now, but at the same time he’s doing his best to consciously curb his own hopes.

“You—?”

Hyunjin laughs anxiously. “I was just watching you,” Hyunjin murmurs. “As in—I _ literally _ couldn’t take my eyes off you, even though we were surrounded by hundreds of people. I could only watch you as you sang along, and swayed to the music and—”

Seungmin’s breath hitches at the exact same time that Hyunjin’s does, and they both end up exhaling laughter together.

“I love you, Seungminnie.” And this is when Hyunjin gives him the gift that he’s been coveting for almost half of his life. “I’m in love with you. I don’t know when it happened—maybe it was some time during the last year, because I kept missing you whenever you were out with your new friends from university, or whenever _ I _ was. Or maybe it’s some time over the last few years, and I just never realised it because you were just there, and I clearly took you for granted. I can’t really tell you, the same way I can’t tell you how we first met—but _ I know. _ I just know, because you’re the one person I always want to have in my life.”

As far as confessions go, Seungmin doesn’t think it’s too bad – but then it’s Hyunjin, and Seungmin has long accepted that Hyunjin can’t ever really do wrong in his eyes. 

The truth is he isn’t able to tell when his own feelings morphed from something as simple as friendship to more either, and that’s why he understands completely what Hyunjin is trying to convey.

“I love you too,” he answers finally, more laughter trickling out of his throat because the situation they’re in feels ridiculous – a confession from his best friend on his birthday, while the two of them stand in the middle of the park right across the street from where they live, their atmosphere lit only by dim, orange street lights. It’s like a scene right out of romantic dramas that make Hyunjin cry when he watches them. 

And yet, it feels right at the same time, because it’s him, and it’s Hyunjin, and in the grand scheme of things, Seungmin should have probably realised that this was something inevitable.

“I’m in love with you too,” he clarifies, clearing his throat as he feels his cheeks get coated with warmth.

Hyunjin exhales with palpable relief, and Seungmin stops himself from laughing again, because he finds it adorable.

“Happy birthday, Seungminnie,” Hyunjin whispers, as his hand casually finds Seungmin’s.

“Happy birthday, indeed,” Seungmin agrees, tugging at Hyunjin’s hand right before he leans in and places a soft, and chaste kiss right on the corner his best friend’s lips.

  
  
  
  


**~**

**Author's Note:**

> [ 4 ] Here's to Kim Seungmin having a wonderful birthday. May he have the most delicious cake, and all the love from the members. 
> 
> [ 5 ] Thank you for reading this short piece to the end! Feedback of any kind, as usual, is greatly appreciated. 
> 
> [ 5 ] [Twitter](http://twitter.com/hanmings) ; [Curious Cat](http://curiouscat.me/yiminho) ☔️


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